Talking about Olympic events while ramping up for the next major competition in Tokyo!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Sweeps are Sweet, but All You Need Are Series

I spend a lot of time nowadays paying attention to the Tigers and Brewers. It's become a fun obsession - "The Cardinals lost again?!" "They both swept this weekend?!" "They made the cover of Sports Illustrated!" Even the guy at work who spends every moment dogging me about my sports teams has been complimentary!

I am thrilled when it comes to a sweep, but as the great Jim Leyland stated at the beginning of the season, (to paraphrase) "You can't win every game in a season." And that's still the case. So when the Tigers can take a few games and then drop a couple, I tend not to fret.

Sweeps are wonderful, but you can't bet on a team to win them all. All I ask is for them to take 2 out of 3. Or 3 out of 4. Or both of a 2-gamer.

I checked. If the Tigers win all the series for the rest of the season, that will be 20 games. They currently are at 70 wins. In a division that looked as lost as the AL Central for the first half of the season, they probably only need to win 90 games to win the division. And bam! They are there!

I'm not saying that sweeping a series is unnecessary. If we can clinch the playoffs sooner, it will make me feel better sooner. Plus we can rest a bunch of starters without worrying about a Game 163 or something like that.

You may pine for the sweeps. But when they take 2 out of 3 from the White Sox, you are allowed to smile and pump your fist. If Porcello or Scherzer drop a game, (OR, not AND) don't push the panic button. Root to win the series. Because when the playoffs roll around, the same scenario goes: all you have to do is win the Series.